Neighbors cry foul at Boulder Mayor Susan Osborne's snowy sidewalk

City: Osborne not in violation because no shoveling deadline announced

Boulder Mayor Susan Osborne s sidewalk was not shoveled as of 4:30 p.m. Monday -- well more than 24 hours after the snow stopped falling Sunday morning. City ordinance requires residents shovel their sidewalks within 24 hours of the end of a snowfall.
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MARK LEFFINGWELL
)

College student Cody Wolff said he’s used to people not shoveling their sidewalks on University Hill — but the Boulder mayor has no excuse not to clear hers more than 24 hours after the latest snow stopped falling.

Some neighbors, including Wolff, said they were disappointed Monday afternoon to see that Mayor Susan Osborne had not cleared the snow from the public sidewalk adjacent to her house at 525 College Ave.

“She should be out here shoveling the sidewalk,” said Wolff, a University of Colorado student who walks past Osborne’s house almost every day.

Late Monday night, Osborne, in an e-mail, said she was speaking at a conference in Kyoto, Japan, and was not able to return calls seeking comment. She wrote that her dog sitter apparently failed to shovel her sidewalk.

"We always take care of our walk,” Osborne wrote.

Osborne wasn’t the only City Council member who failed to meet the city’s much-debated new 24-hour deadline to shovel their walks. A survey of the rest of the council’s addresses found that most had shoveled to some degree — but Councilwoman KC Becker, like Osborne, hadn’t by Monday evening.

Becker, who lives at 3141 Ninth St., could not be immediately reached for comment Monday evening.

Today's forecast

About 3 to 7 inches of snow was expected to pile up in Boulder overnight Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Tuesday morning, an additional 2 to 4 inches of snow is possible, with the flakes continuing to fall through mid-day. Temperatures should fall to around 4 degrees by 5 p.m. There's a 40 percent chance of additional snowfall Tuesday night, with temperatures rising to a high of about 24 on Wednesday.

Snow removal

Boulder residents have 24 hours after the end of a snowstorm to shovel their sidewalks. For the latest details on when the city of Boulder will begin enforcing the rules, visit bouldercolorado.gov.

The City Council voted unanimously Jan. 18 to approve an emergency ordinance requiring Boulder residents and businesses to clear their sidewalks of snow and ice within 24 hours of the end of a snowstorm.

While the city has exhibited some difficulty determining the official end of snowstorm since the council approved the rule, Boulder meteorologist Matt Kelsch said the most recent snow started falling Saturday and ended mid-morning Sunday morning.

That storm left 6.3 inches of snow in most Boulder neighborhoods, which would have set the deadline for shoveling by mid-morning Monday, according to the city's code. Osborne's sidewalk was still covered with snow as of 4:30 p.m. Monday.

The city received one anonymous complaint Monday about Osborne's sidewalk not being shoveled, according to Sarah Huntley, a spokeswoman for the city. But she said it's "not considered a violation at this time."

That's because the city never announced a firm deadline for when it would begin enforcing the shoveling rules, she said. Boulder last announced a 24-hour shoveling deadline on Friday, following Thursday's snowfall.

On Monday, the city instead released a statement on its Web site and Twitter feed Monday morning urging all residents to "please clear sidewalks of snow ASAP."

Huntley said that "gentle reminder" was made in place of enforcing the 24-hour rule because another storm was expected within a day or so.

But "that doesn't mean we are not encouraging people to shovel as soon as they can," she said. "The sprit of the law is asking people to get their sidewalk shoveled."

Huntley added that the city "would not advocate different treatment for different members of our community," and that council members would not receive preferential treatment for potential violations.

She said the city keeps a log of complaints about properties, and code-enforcement officers would take that history into consideration when determining how to enforce future complaints. Violations carry a $100 ticket for a first offense, or the city can hire a contractor to clear sidewalks and then charge homeowners for the work, in addition to a $50 fine.

Another snowstorm was expected to dump up to 11 inches on Boulder beginning late Monday night and ending sometime this afternoon. As soon as the flakes stop falling, the city will consider setting a time after which it will begin enforcing the shoveling rule and post the information on its Web site.

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